Bored graduate who likes books. I write about YA and all related topics at The Book Lantern. Other literary interests include politics, LGBTQ literature, drama and the odd romance. I also co-host the podcast Anglo-Filles and write theatre reviews for FemaleArts.com and The Skinny.

Yet another update to the YouTube Sex Scandal (for the full story check here, here, here, and this great video sums up the whole situation).

Good News: On May 4th, the official Nerdfigher tumblr (effyeahnerdfighters.com) FINALLY made an announcement about the elusive "resource team" that Hank Green said was putting together a response to the scandal and are putting in place measures to prevent it from happening again. [source]

Bad News: Luke Conrad, an admitted abuser of multiple women, will be a paid Special Guest at VidCon (a YouTube convention specifically targeted at teens). According to mellowblueness, who continues to be a great resource for information on this issue, at least two of Conrad's victims will also be attending Vidcon. [source]

This calls into the question the sincerity of the statement from the effyeahnerdfighters' post, that "The VidCon team is committed to improving safety options and opportunities for attendees."

One would think the first step of ensuring the safety of attendees would involve not forcing them to have to share space with their abuser, much less to pay to see that abuser celebrated on stage.

It's even more interesting considering when author C.C. Finlay asked the official Vidcon Twitter account asking for a link to their official anti-sexual harassment and conduct policy, two days before the effyeahnerdfighters post went up, he was informed that not only did they not have one, but they didn't need one. [source]

Considering many of the victims who came forward about their abuse mentioned having met their abusers at Vidcon, this cavalier attitude about the lack of a harassment policy and the insulting/erasing declaration that everyone is "extremely respectful to each other" shows just how far the people who helm this organization have their heads shoved up their own asses.

I think Whitney, one of Conrad's victims, does a fantastic job of summing up the situation:

"right, so, all of these ‘discussions’ and ‘panels’ and ‘video series’ about abuse and consent and manipulation and rape culture being planned by vidcon and the heads of the nerdfighter community in response to the past month & a half’s worth of conversations about abuse and consent and manipulation and rape culture are totally valid and not at all emblematic of laughably glaring hypocrisy considering the fact that they are still paying one of the most high-profile admitted abusers to appear at vidcon, where at least two of the women he abused will also be in attendance.